Such an apparatus is known from the European patent EP-B-0 858 740.
In the known apparatus, a leg of poultry, e.g. chicken, suspended in a hook of an overhead conveyor is conveyed to a supporting wheel provided with recesses into which at least part of the leg is received for support. Below and above the support wheel, the known apparatus is further provided with a guide rail such that the leg at the height of the knee joint connecting the drumstick with the thigh, is caused to bend around the support wheel.
In the course of the support wheel's rotation, the bent legs pass a cutting device, more specifically a rotating blade, with which the drumstick and thigh are severed from each other at the height of the knee joint.
A drawback of the known apparatus is that the positioning of the drumstick and thigh after the same have been severed cannot be guaranteed, which renders a continuation of automatic processing of the drumstick and thigh more difficult.